As RedState previously reported, the story of Alabama woman Carlee Russell’s alleged kidnapping nearly two weeks ago appeared to spark doubts among police and investigators almost from the start.

For starters, Russell, who is 25, indicated on both the 911 call she made and the call she placed to a friend of the family’s shortly before her alleged abduction that she was pulling her vehicle over because she saw a toddler, who she said was a boy, walking unattended on the side of the interstate after dark.

Police arrived shortly after her 911 call, and located Russell’s car and belongings but not her nor the alleged toddler.

Surely if a toddler had been walking along a busy highway by himself there would have been a flood of calls to 911, and probably more than a few concerned people stopping. But there weren’t.

“Carlee’s 911 call remains the only timely report of a child on the interstate,” the Hoover PD wrote on Facebook three days after Russell’s “disappearance” and one day after she returned home on foot.

At a press conference the following week, police chief Nicholas Derzis revealed, among other things, searches Russell did on her cellphone prior to her calling 911, and they all revolved around kidnapping – including asking questions about Amber Alerts and searching for the 2008 movie “Taken,” which is about a teenage girl who is kidnapped while on a trip to Europe and her retired CIA operative father’s methodical search for her and her kidnappers.

Though police stopped short of saying they believed she made the story up, it was clear from the tenor and tone and all the new information they shared that they didn’t.

In an update to this story, Derzis read a statement Monday from Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, noting that Russell admitted to making up the whole story:

“My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf: There was no kidnapping on July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident, but this was a single act done by herself,’’ Anthony wrote.

“My client was not with anyone or at any hotel during the time she was missing,’’ Anthony said.

“My client apologizes for her actions to the community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies, as well as to her friends and family,’’ the attorney said in the statement.

“We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and intends to move understanding that she made a mistake,’’ Anthony said. “Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers.”

Police have indicated that criminal charges may be filed:

NEW: Carlee Russell "did not see a baby on the side of the road" and there "was no kidnapping," according to a statement from her attorney.

Possible criminal charges in the case are "currently in discussions," Hoover police chief says. https://t.co/6YxvacMaKC pic.twitter.com/CZziLtynJi

— ABC News (@ABC) July 24, 2023

Though fortunately there was no kidnapping, Russell’s hoax has understandably angered members of the community, including those who have had to go through the kidnapping (and murder) of a loved one.

As I said before, whether it was staged or not, it is best to keep the Russell family in your prayers because they are going to be going through a rough time in the coming weeks and months as they come to terms with what Carlee Russell did, the why and the repercussions from it.

There’s no explaining it away and no justification that can make it right, but obviously she needs some help. Hopefully she gets it.

Related: The Troubling Consequences of Carlee Russell’s Alleged Hoax